“Synthetic” or “Lab-Grown”? The Diamond Word Fight Heading to Your Jeweller
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If you’ve shopped for an engagement ring lately, you’ve probably seen the words “lab-grown,” “lab-created” and maybe “synthetic” used for the same kind of stone. This week, that vocabulary turned into an open fight. On October 20, a new group called the Diamond Producers Council (DPC) urged jewellers to reject a recommendation from CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and warned it may take legal action against sellers who use the word “synthetic” in a misleading way.
How the word fight started
CIBJO is an international trade body that publishes voluntary standards for the jewellery industry, known as the Blue Books. At its 2026 Congress, which ended on September 14, it decided to recommend “synthetic” as the only term for diamonds that are not mined, turning down a request from some trade members to also accept “laboratory-grown.” Its 2026 Diamond Commission report also talks about exploring ways to keep the famous 4Cs (cut, colour, clarity and carat) for natural diamonds only.
CIBJO isn’t alone. According to Rapaport, France adopted “synthetic” for all non-natural stones in 2024, Russia followed in June 2026, and the London Diamond Bourse said in September it will use “synthetic diamond” too.
What the lab-grown side says
The DPC, which says its members grow more than 20 million carats a year, calls CIBJO’s recommendation “biased” and “deceptive.” Its main point is simple: “A lab-grown diamond is diamond.” Cubic zirconia, moissanite and glass are different materials, it says, while a lab-grown diamond is real diamond material. It points to a 2016 survey, submitted to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in which 56% of people understood “synthetic diamond” to mean an imitation or a fake.
The group also notes that CIBJO is not a government regulator and that its Blue Books are voluntary, so jewellers’ real legal duties come from the laws where they do business. It recommends sticking with “lab-grown diamond,” “lab-created diamond” or a brand name plus “created diamond,” and says it will pursue proceedings against jewellers who use “synthetic” deceptively. As of Rapaport’s October 22 report, CIBJO had not publicly answered.
Why it matters now
This is more than a debate about labels. Lab-grown stones have gone mainstream fast: CIBJO’s own lab-grown committee chair, Wesley Hunt, said more than half of U.S. engagement rings sold by volume now contain one. When a category grows that quickly, the words used to describe it shape how buyers see value, and both sides know it.
Whatever word you hear, what matters is clear disclosure: you should always know whether your stone was mined or grown, and have a grading report that says so. Both are real diamonds with different stories, price points and long-term value, and neither choice is wrong. If you’re weighing the two for a ring, we’re happy to put them side by side for you, book a visit to our Montreal studio.
Sources: Diamond Producers Council via GlobeNewswire (Oct. 20, 2026) · Rapaport (Oct. 22, 2026) · Rapaport (Sept. 14, 2026)
